Jan 11, 2014, 10:36 am
Last edit by: TEDisgone
WARNING - The cancellation fee has been increased up to $200 for long haul premium awards as of Feb 2017 .
T&Cs here:
How to cancel a Lifemiles ticket:
Some agents have stated that the ticket can be cancelled even AFTER the flight dates, as long as the ticket is "open". Confirmed by FTers @ #334, 336, 371 and 445.
T&Cs here:
How to cancel a Lifemiles ticket:
- Lifemiles tickets cannot be canceled or changed online, you need to call the Avianca/TACA call center
(+1 800 284 2622)(number updated to +1 866 919 0081 as of February 2024). #2 for English, then enter your Lifemiles number, enter #3 for Lifemiles then #3 again for transactions. - The cancellation fee is variable, $50-200. The change-fee is $150. This is per passenger/ticket. If you cancel, you will not get back the $25 booking fee paid when the ticket was issued.
- The cancellation fee for Awards booked after 20th/2/2017: Award Tickets are reimbursable by paying a fee that varies depending on the redeemed route, the redemption channel and other circumstances, Accurate information of the reimbursement cost shall be informed at the time of redeeming the Award Ticket. If you cancel, you will not get back the $25 booking fee paid when the ticket was issued.
- You need to set-up a phone PIN to do any changes to tickets on lifemiles.com before or during the call. Do this before you call as doing this while calling can add a couple of minutes to the call
- Make sure your address and phone number are up to date in your lifemiles account. This will help immensely as spelling out everything letter-by-letter to the phone agent.
- Your credit card information is collected via an automated system on the phone and not by the agent. The system first asks you for your card number (Visa, Mastercard, or American Express), followed by the expiration month/year in MMYY format, then followed by the Security Code. Press * to correct mistakes in entering numbers.
- You need to enter/confirm credit card information for every ticket seperately. The process is simpler for remaining tickets as you only need to: first confirm the last 4 digits of the card (1 - Yes; 2 - No); followed by the expiration Month; followed by the expiration Year; followed by the Security code. For AMEX,(and sometimes for visa too ) the whole cared number has to be entered again
- Similarly if you have used credit cards before, the system keeps information about your credit cards, so even for the first ticket, the process is simpler as you only need to confirm the last four digits of credit card, then expiration month, then expiration year last two digits only followed by the security code
- Be prepared to spend between 20 minutes and 3 hours on the phone to get your changes / cancellation done, depending on the agent you get, or if you're really unlucky, you may spend days getting it sorted out.
- Avianca transactions may trigger fraud alerts on your credit card, you may need to contact your bank about this.
- Miles should be back in your account instantaneously, tax refund can take longer (2-3 weeks)
- Money paid for miles purchased as part of "more money/less miles" choice will NOT be refunded in cash but as miles.
- As soon as your flight is ticketed, the refund for a cash & miles booking will be only in miles
- BE PATIENT: some agents are very knowledgeable and fast, others take hours to get a simple cancellation done
- TAXES ARE REFUNDABLE: if an agent claims that taxes are non-refundable you may need to write an email to [email protected] to follow-up
- You should be able to see your cancellation receipts under "Your Lifemiles" - "Print receipts" (Only works with Internet Explorer!)
- NEW RULE - Ticket cannot be cancelled in the T-48 to T+24 window. Ticket can be cancelled after T+24 as long as ticket is valid, which is up to 365 days after issuance date (not travel date!)
Some agents have stated that the ticket can be cancelled even AFTER the flight dates, as long as the ticket is "open". Confirmed by FTers @ #334, 336, 371 and 445.
Cancellation of Lifemiles ticket
Aug 29, 2014, 10:31 am
#346
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Between AMS and BRU
Posts: 8,852
And another data point: cancelled 1 ticket (or at least tried to)
25 minutes where I was asked almost all my personal information including passport number, reservation code, LM pin. Used the credit card system and message was "payment approved" then got transferred to the agent again who told me twice to wait for a few minutes to complete his entries, and then transferred me to a Spanish speaking agent who didn't understand me and broke the connection.
Result: ticket not cancelled and card not charged.
I suspect a lazy agent who didn't do a thing (no more input from me was needed at that point). E-mail about the cancellation was answered by LM within two hours confirming no trace of the cancellation could be found, try again, good luck.
Unprofessional bunch of ....
25 minutes where I was asked almost all my personal information including passport number, reservation code, LM pin. Used the credit card system and message was "payment approved" then got transferred to the agent again who told me twice to wait for a few minutes to complete his entries, and then transferred me to a Spanish speaking agent who didn't understand me and broke the connection.
Result: ticket not cancelled and card not charged.
I suspect a lazy agent who didn't do a thing (no more input from me was needed at that point). E-mail about the cancellation was answered by LM within two hours confirming no trace of the cancellation could be found, try again, good luck.
Unprofessional bunch of ....
Aug 30, 2014, 5:35 am
#347
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Programs: BA Silver, EY Gold, HH Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 12,210
And another data point: cancelled 1 ticket (or at least tried to)
25 minutes where I was asked almost all my personal information including passport number, reservation code, LM pin. Used the credit card system and message was "payment approved" then got transferred to the agent again who told me twice to wait for a few minutes to complete his entries, and then transferred me to a Spanish speaking agent who didn't understand me and broke the connection.
Result: ticket not cancelled and card not charged.
I suspect a lazy agent who didn't do a thing (no more input from me was needed at that point). E-mail about the cancellation was answered by LM within two hours confirming no trace of the cancellation could be found, try again, good luck.
Unprofessional bunch of ....
25 minutes where I was asked almost all my personal information including passport number, reservation code, LM pin. Used the credit card system and message was "payment approved" then got transferred to the agent again who told me twice to wait for a few minutes to complete his entries, and then transferred me to a Spanish speaking agent who didn't understand me and broke the connection.
Result: ticket not cancelled and card not charged.
I suspect a lazy agent who didn't do a thing (no more input from me was needed at that point). E-mail about the cancellation was answered by LM within two hours confirming no trace of the cancellation could be found, try again, good luck.
Unprofessional bunch of ....
.
Sep 1, 2014, 4:28 am
#350
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Programs: BA Silver, EY Gold, HH Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 12,210
Sep 3, 2014, 11:06 am
#351
In memoriam
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: NYC
Programs: UA, AA, SPG - Gold, LM
Posts: 589
I am looking for some help in cancelling and refunding a "NON-REFUNDABLE" award ticket that I mistakenly booked a while ago.
I had already cancelled the flight, but getting a refund on this ticket seems impossible. The ticket is a 3 segment ticket and one of the segment is non-refundable.
Anyone has cancelled such ticket?
What trick did you use?
Thanks in advance for any help.
I had already cancelled the flight, but getting a refund on this ticket seems impossible. The ticket is a 3 segment ticket and one of the segment is non-refundable.
Anyone has cancelled such ticket?
What trick did you use?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Sep 4, 2014, 3:06 am
#352
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Programs: BA Silver, EY Gold, HH Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 12,210
I am looking for some help in cancelling and refunding a "NON-REFUNDABLE" award ticket that I mistakenly booked a while ago.
I had already cancelled the flight, but getting a refund on this ticket seems impossible. The ticket is a 3 segment ticket and one of the segment is non-refundable.
Anyone has cancelled such ticket?
What trick did you use?
Thanks in advance for any help.
I had already cancelled the flight, but getting a refund on this ticket seems impossible. The ticket is a 3 segment ticket and one of the segment is non-refundable.
Anyone has cancelled such ticket?
What trick did you use?
Thanks in advance for any help.
Sep 4, 2014, 3:54 am
#353
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: SPG Plat 100, A3*G
Posts: 678
Sep 5, 2014, 3:25 am
#354
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Programs: BA Silver, EY Gold, HH Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 12,210
Sep 5, 2014, 3:35 am
#355
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 3,838
Sep 8, 2014, 2:33 am
#356
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,673
just got off the phone after cancelling a ticket....took only 15 minutes & the miles are already back into my account....it would be a lot easier if we had the ability to cancel online but all in all it was a pain-free experience....
Sep 12, 2014, 7:41 am
#357
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: allaroundasia
Programs: LH SEN, SPG Plat.M&S E+
Posts: 222
Just in case somebody needs to cancel LM tickets...today seems to be a good day, it took just appr.20 minutes for 3 tickets (in one PNR)
Last edited by no_idea; Sep 12, 2014 at 8:43 am
Oct 21, 2014, 8:04 am
#358
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: CDG
Programs: TK Elite
Posts: 1,611
Canceled one ticket just now, 18 minutes, 41 seconds total talk time, process was extremely smooth, taxes refunded after up to 20 business daysl
Can anyone tell me if the 25$ ticketing fee you pay when booking is also refunded?
Can anyone tell me if the 25$ ticketing fee you pay when booking is also refunded?
Last edited by AirCanada881; Oct 21, 2014 at 8:33 am Reason: ticketing fee question
Oct 21, 2014, 10:00 am
#359
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: SIN
Programs: SQ, UA, Delta, BMI(RIP), Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Diamond (Thanks Amex) Hyatt Discov
Posts: 1,942
Not sure about the 25$ ticketing fee, have never looked at refunds in detail.